Welcome to the world of Green IT

In his animated films, Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki often explores the relationship between humans and nature. In the 1997 film *Princess Mononoke*, for example, the main character stands up against the destruction of nature by humans. Through his films, Miyazaki seeks to illustrate that we exist within the context of our environment—indeed, that we are dependent on it.
As software architects, we know that our software operates within a context and is subject to influencing factors. The connection to nature is not immediately obvious here. It is no coincidence that technology-based science fiction works are usually set in megacities or in space. Yet the IT industry does have a connection to nature: Green IT.
In this blog series, we provide insight into the challenges and opportunities of Green IT and aim to show that Green IT is about more than just environmental protection. In this first article, we explore the various facets of sustainable software systems, explain the underlying motivation, and present selected Green IT measures.

What Green IT Means

To better define the term “Green IT,” let’s first take a look at the broader concept of “sustainability.” The principles of sustainable development trace back to the 1987 report *Our Common Future* by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development. Today, this report is better known as the “Brundtland Report.” In this report, sustainable development is described as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Building on the Brundtland Report, the Enquete Commission of the German Bundestag presented a report in 1998 in which the concept of sustainability is specified within a three-pillar model:
Ecological sustainability: Our economic activities are guided by the limits of naturally renewable resources.
Economic sustainability: Our economic activities aim to remain viable in the long term.
Social sustainability: Our social actions aim to include all people and prevent social tensions.
The Green IT sector focuses on the ecological sustainability aspects of IT systems, without neglecting social and economic factors. Thus, ecologically sustainable practices are often accompanied by cost savings. The goal of Green IT measures is always to reduce resource consumption and the associated greenhouse gas emissions, which have been proven to drive climate change.

Why We Should Pay Attention to Green IT

In our blog series on Green IT, we highlight Green IT measures and their impact on the energy and resource consumption of software systems. However, we also believe it is important to highlight the motivation behind these measures, which goes beyond environmental protection. To illustrate the benefits of Green IT here, we draw on the Japanese Sanpo-Yoshi model. It originates from the guild of traveling merchants who built infrastructure in the provinces to establish long-term relationships with their customers. Sanpo-Yoshi is a centuries-old business principle that evaluates a business model based on whether it is good for the seller, the buyer, and society.
Green IT is good for the software manufacturer (seller) because the development of sustainable software is faster and its operation is more cost-efficient. Sustainable software is leaner, and DevOps processes are executed more quickly. Furthermore, a commitment to sustainability has a positive impact on brand image and employer attractiveness.
Green IT is good for the software user (buyer) because sustainable software performs better and consumes less power on the user’s system. Furthermore, sustainable software is compatible with older hardware, allowing it to be used for longer.
Green IT is good for society because it reduces resource consumption and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. It is also an exciting field of research where jobs can be created.
This analysis illustrates that Green IT offers numerous benefits for various stakeholders. When discussing measures for developing sustainable software systems, we highlight these benefits to demonstrate why these measures are worthwhile.

What Needs to Be Done in the Area of Green IT

In this section, we would like to share ideas on what Green IT measures are possible. Here, we focus on potential actions in the development of software systems. While software users can also realize savings through efficient use, these savings are minimal compared to scalable optimization measures implemented by software manufacturers.
The simplest measure to reduce resource consumption in a software company is to shut down unused services (so-called “zombie services”). In particular, decommissioning cloud resources can also lead to significant cost reductions. In a 2025 report, Barry Runyon described how the American healthcare organization Trinity Health succeeded in achieving an annual reduction in IT operating costs of $68 million by identifying and shutting down unused IT services. While this report focuses exclusively on the financial aspect, the ecological resource savings are directly linked to it.
Additionally, systems that are only needed for a limited time can be started up and shut down as needed. These include, for example, test and reporting systems. This measure is not only simple but also extremely effective. The resource consumption of a test system can be reduced by nearly 60% if it only needs to be operated during core working hours.
An effective measure in the field of software development is caching. Caching prevents the need to perform the same work multiple times to generate identical content. In this way, caching improves a process’s runtime performance and also reduces its resource consumption. Depending on the architecture, caching can also lead to a reduction in the volume of network communication.
With this blog post, we aim to lay the groundwork for an entire blog series on Green IT. We look forward to presenting you with numerous measures, models, and methods for efficiently designing your IT landscape. In the next blog post, we’ll dive right into the topic and discuss the carbon intensity of electricity and the principle of “Carbon Aware Computing.”
If you are interested in resource-efficient software architecture, we recommend taking a look at our training offerings, which include our iSAQB® “Green Software” training course.